Monday, November 22, 2010

Monetize It

I just updated my website, www.JAKonrath.com, with links. Lots of links, which all lead to my books.

Since writing in my sole source of income, it's in my best interest to make as much money from it as possible. And since I'm keeping the rights to the majority of my work, it makes sense to exploit those rights for all they're worth.

Here's what you can do squeeze the most revenue from your intellectual properties.

Kindle - The Kindle accounts for the overwhelming majority of my current income, and I'm selling over 350 ebooks per day. If you're new to the Digital Text Platform program that Amazon runs, you can get started by visiting dtp.amazon.com.

If, like me, you need some help formatting your manuscripts to make them Kindle-friendly, I suggest Rob Siders at www.52novels.com. He's fast, reasonably priced, and a true professional who will work with you to make your book look terrific on Kindle, and other ebook formats.

Smashwords - Once your ebook is up on Kindle, you should explore other ebook retailers. www.Smashwords.com allows you to list your ebooks on various formats, including Sony, Barnes & Noble, Kobo (which links to Borders), the Apple iBookstore, and Diesel.

B&N is the most promising so far, and now that Books-A-Million have begun selling Nooks (along with Walmart, Best Buy, and other brick and mortar retailers) I predict a nice holiday bump in sales.

As far as money goes, you can make slightly more, and get paid faster (with faster sales updates) if you deal with each of these companies directly. But I like the one-stop-shopping aspect of Smashwords. It makes things easier.

IndiaNIC - This company turns your ebooks into apps for sale on iTunes and the Android store. You have to contact them at www.indianic.com to set up a free account, and the money so far is underwhelming (I'm making maybe $50 a month) but it's a good idea to make your books available for the giant smartphone market.

Amazon Associates - This program is a bit labor-intensive to set up, but once it's finished, you can make 4% - 6% from every Amazon item you sell through your website. I have over fifty books, ebooks, and audiobooks available on Amazon, and my site gets a fair amount of traffic, so it made sense to implement this. Get started at affiliate-program.amazon.com.

Paypal - I began selling signed copies of my books off my website years ago, as a courtesy to fans who wanted my autograph but missed me during my various tours. It was a break-even venture.

But now, since I'm printing my own books, I can now function as a bookstore and make a few bucks. Paypal makes it easy to set up a website account and add a shopping cart and buttons to your site, as evidenced HERE.

Createspace - Ever since I began to earn money with ebooks, I've gotten requests from fans who want the print versions. During BEA, I met with many folks on the Createspace team, and also talked with a few authors who used the service. Recently, I took the plunge and made nine of my ebooks available in print through Amazon.com.

They're priced around $13.95 each, for 6" x 9" trade paperbacks, though Amazon has begun discounting a few. On each Amazon sale, I make about $3 - $4 in royalties.

While the basic version of Createspace is free to use, the Pro Plan costs $39 per title. For this extra cost, you get expanded distribution, better royalties, and cheaper author copies. I pay less than $5 per book--that's less than it would cost getting a Xerox at Kinko's, and the books are quality.

Since I'm no better at formatting fro print than I am formatting for Kindle, I hired someone. Her name is Cheryl Perez, and she's professional, reasonable, and easy to work with. You can reach her at yourepublished(at)gmail.com. Tell her I sent you.

Cheryl also took my cover art and created spines and back covers, perfectly sized for Createspace printing--yet another thing I couldn't do on my own.

My Agent - I often get asked what my literary agent thinks of all of my self-pubbing, since she doesn't get a commission from it.

I'm lucky that my agent is forward-thinking, because she helps me make even more money from these properties. Recently, she sold audio rights to my ebooks, and she's currently working on the foreign rights.

Conclusion - The Ron Popeil axiom "Set it and forget it" is pretty appropriate for all of the methods I've discussed here. Though there are time and monetary costs involved in setting these up, once they're live you can pretty much ignore them.

Including my website, I'll be selling books through ten different retailers. Createspace also works with a distributor, so bookstores can order the books. If you add audio and foreign markets, a property can be sold dozens of times.

Never before has it been so easy for an author to reach so many potential readers. I'm pretty excited by the possibilities here. The biggest enemy of self-publishers has always been distribution. Not anymore.

What's the new biggest enemy? Obscurity. But that's a blog topic for another day...

I've had no experience with Lightening Source. I have used Lulu in the past, but they'll charge me $13 a copy, when Createspace charges $4.50. Big difference. Plus Createspace is listed on Amazon.com, which is a big plus.

I set up Paypal through my own site earlier this week. I'm not a techie by any stretch, but the process was very quick and easy. Now I have to research creating some coupons for the products, which can also be done through CreateSpace.

I also designed the covers (not the cover art) myself with PagePlus, desktop publishing software I picked up on eBay for 50bucks. It's a cinch to format the book's front and spine. Not only that, I can use PagePlus to craft promotional materials like flyers and postcards.

As an editor, I've worked for a long time in the traditional publishing world, but when I started my self-publishing venture, I was at a loss. I am thrilled to see this post, partially because it validates many of the conclusions I came to but mostly because there is proof that it can be done successfully.

What would you recommend for non-fiction books (specifically those that may have pictures and inset boxes)? Is it acceptable to have a "highly designed" print edition and a pared down eBook edition? Do you think self-pubbing is a viable option for non-fiction, or is that something that still rests in the hands of the trads?

Sorry, forgot to mention: As for formatting the novel itself, you can achieve great things with MS Word if you know how to properly utilize it. I formatted my novels with Word and they came out exactly as I wanted them to appear in print.

@JR- the very short answer: If you want easy, inexpensive, and maximum return per book, and you only care about Amazon sales, CreateSpace "Pro Plan" is the way to go. If you want full distribution at a decent cover price, and want to make your books returnable, LSI is the way to go.

I used LSI with my first backlist back to marketplace book. They print about 50,000,000 books a year. They prefer to work with people who consider themselves at the least serious mini-publishers. They offer no help, they're not in the handholding business they're in the printing books business, but will tell you when you've got the dimensions of the cover wrong. If you want to sell books in stores, use LSI. If you want hard copies available online, use CreateSpace because of the smaller financial investment.

I think you can go direct to B&N with Pubbit! now, as well as direct to iBookstore. I've found Smashwords to be less than stellar with their distribution speed. Seems to take quite a while to get a book showing up and then another eternity to report sales.

Lightning Source is great, but not for the faint of heart, as they have very stringent setup requirements. It's about $120 a title for set-up, and $12 a year to stay in the catalog, but the distribution is amazing. If you have a layout pro who knows how to do it, I'd recommend them highly.

Joe, Lightning Source also lists on Amazon.com, plus almost everywhere else in the world, including the Amazon sites in other countries that CreateSpace does not reach. In fact, CreateSpace uses Lightning Source for the bookseller part of its Expanded Distribution Channel.

At the same time, you can set a 20% discount at Lightning, as opposed to a 40% discount at CreatSpace, enabling you to greatly increase your profit, including on all books sold on Amazon. And Lightning books are normally discounted on Amazon by 10%, as opposed to CreateSpace books without expanded distribution, which are normally not discounted at all.

If you'd like to learn more, I've written an entire book on Lightning, including the economics behind it and comprehensive advice for using it, called "POD for Profit." In fact, I'd be happy to send you a review copy, if you request one. I'm at http://www.newselfpublishing.com.

It's great to have all these resources in one place. Another worth mentioning, which I used for my first ebook to sell on my website, is e-junkie. They take care of sending out the copies, and remit the money to you instantly by PayPal, and charge $5 a month which covers several titles.

You can see how it works here:http://www.pacific-coast-highway-travel.com/Buy-Our-Hotel-Ebook-Guide.html

They provide the 'add to cart' button.

I also have the book on Amazon through CreateSpace and for Kindle, and am about to go with Smashwords, but will bear in mind what previous posters said.

Depending on how many print books you expect to sell, Lightning Source can be a good way to go. Since they are not a publisher, you have more control and can set your own pricing and margins with them. So if you sell a lot of books, then that is the way to go with POD. Lulu is good if you only sell a few print books, and I expect that Createspace is much the same. We use Lulu for Advance Review Copies (since you don't have to make them available for distribution), and Lightning Source for those titles we put into print.

Amazon Associates has been cumbersome, in our experience, but if you get a lot of web traffic, I agree with Joe that it is worth it. Any amount you get over the cost of keeping up your site is pure profit.

Jennifer Beckton:"What would you recommend for non-fiction books (specifically those that may have pictures and inset boxes)? Is it acceptable to have a "highly designed" print edition and a pared down eBook edition?"

We don't do non-fiction, but I've dealt with a lot of non-fiction publishers over the years. Formatting such a book is a lot harder than formatting a typical fiction title, but there are special (and I expect expensive) programs that let you do it. For fiction titles all you really need is Word and a good PDF maker for print books. Formatting a complex ebook is probably another level of challenge entirely.

"Do you think self-pubbing is a viable option for non-fiction, or is that something that still rests in the hands of the trads?"

Here it depends. A good nonfiction title is often peer-reviewed, which means it is looked at by specialists before it reaches the final manuscript phase. For this, having a publisher with those contacts is vital, and these sorts of books are taken a lot more seriously than those without such peer review. This applies mostly to scholarly books, however, and if you've got some expertise in an area and want to put it into book form, I don't see any reason why self-publishing couldn't work for you. In fact, if you find the right niche, self-publishing nonfiction might even be easier than self-publishing fiction.

Thanks for the putting the tips in a simple list. There is definitely work involved getting set up, but I sure had a smile on my face when I got my first Kindle sale last week, and my first Nook sale today.

Awesome blog post as usual. Love the multiple streams of income idea. Anyone ever done anything with hats/t-shirts and the like? I've got a set up in my book that might make it a viable option (a fictional group with a logo etc in the book), but have never gone that route and want something of higher quality than VistaPrint. Suggestions?

jennifer said:> What would you recommend > for non-fiction books > (specifically those that may > have pictures and inset boxes)? > Is it acceptable to have> a "highly designed" > print edition and a > pared down eBook edition?

i'm in the process of releasingfree software that helps put abook in various e-book formats,even photos and graphics, etc.

it works fine for regular fiction,but i'm developing it to handlenicely-designed nonfiction too,including things like call-outs...

so jennifer, if you wanna sendyour book, i'll see if i can use itas a sample for testing purposes.

A great post, as always. Archangel, your reply was the answer to a prayer. So Costco definitely ( at least one) is open to SP authors. Outstanding. Since I work there, I didn't want to sound pathetic & clueless, by asking the manager if they would work with me down the line. At least I have a great track record there as an employee. So far... Meanwhile, this marks the 3rd week I have tried to contact the 52 Novels site via this computer, and been turned around to Nowheresville and a blank screen after the last referral question. Does anyone have a 2nd address for Siders? Is there any way to reach him besides his website referral box, which does not work for me? Does he want any more business? Shall I try another out off the house computer? Can anyone name another conversion service that can be reached? Have a fine Thanksgiving.

The 52novels site must have been down for a while as I tried to contact it a few days ago and got the big blank screen, but I did get through yesterday and was able to send an email - so try again, anonymous.

Thanks Joe, a great one-stop-shop post covering the options in this brave new self-pub world.

If choosing the 70% royalty option for a $2.99 Kindle e-book, there's a disadvantage if the other retailers discount to a price under that and then Amazon discounts the Kindle. Anyone know the best way to handle that?

Talking about squeezing revenue... affiliate link the covers in your post, Joe. Ditto the Publishing Guide in the sidebar.

Also, you can optimise your Facebook Page.

Actually set up a 'Page' (http://www.facebook.com/pages/) rather than rely on a FB profile. A FB Page can be customised. Activate the FBML application and throw up a nice graphic as a landing page - Google for tutorials - basic HTML required.

Use the 'Payvment' app to sell books direct from your FB page or simply link to your Amazon products.

Joe, you are so right, as usual. It’s only smart business to maximize your earnings by exploiting every potential income stream.

But I've noticed that the typical fiction writer’s website is nothing more than a sales tool. John Grisham and Stephen King can get away with that, but the self-published author cannot.

Joe, you offer a ton of your fiction for free on your website. I offer three novels, two novellas, and many short stories to read free on my site (over 300,000 words).

Most author sites get little traffic. I get 5,000 visits per month. The average visitor stays for 12 minutes and reads five pages per visit. Why do they come to my site? Why do they stick around? FREE Fiction.

So, I encourage every writer to do it. Give away some of your writing. Yes, I know---you want to SELL your fiction, not GIVE it away. But if you give them a book or a short story (not just an excerpt), you’ll have a chance to amaze and the delight them with your wonderful writing. And then, they just might want to buy your books. ;)

I just want to step in here to say thanks for leading the way and for mentioning Rob Siders, who ably converted and formatted "In The Driver's Seat," my memoir due out next month.

Rob is one of the nicest people I've ever worked with. He's competent, friendly, and honest. He's also modest. I told him he doesn't charge enough--he laughed and said he'd have to think about that. Rob will get my future book projects because I've learned that when he converts and formats I win.Those of you who want professional conversion and formatting need to talk to Rob. You won't be disappointed.

I'm helping an author publish his new POD/e-novel and have used all the services you mention except for IndiaNIC; thanks for that mention. So we're out there, but am looking forward to your future post on "obscurity," cuz that's the big problem, isn't it? BTW, I would like to subscribe to your posts via email, but didn't see that option.

Thanks for sharing, yet again, Joe. A book about your marketing techniques would be yet another bestseller for you if you decided to go that route versus being generous enough to give them away to us all. Thank you!!!!

Unfortunately my experience with LSI UK has not been outstanding: a batch of covers with lines down them, sticky stuff attached to covers, less than perfect cutting. Hassle with the small publisher & LSI getting replacements. It's put me off both. I'm sticking with ebooks at present.

"Torc of Moonlight" is now up on Smashwords, and I'm waiting for the professional conversion for Kindle [I use www.jimandzetta.com]. My decision has been to upload the Smashwords edition @ $3.99 and the Kindle @ $2.99, working on the principle that any undercutting by retailers will be less than 30%. It is my intention to offer a Smashwords $1 off coupon when the Kindle edition goes live to give parity.

I'm not sure if this will be more hassle than helpful, but it's a test. I can always lower the Smashwords price. Anyone tried something like this?

He's also a big fan of LSI. I still use CreateSpace primarily, because it's so easy, but next year, when I release my biggest sellers (which are textbooks) I will be using both CreateSpace and LSI to print and distribute my books.

If you want "easy," use CreateSpace. If you want more control, use LSI. If you want both, use LSI and CreateSpace. I wouldn't reccomend LuLu for anything except odds and ends, like calendars or other weird things that LSI or CS don't offer.

There's a learning curve for all of them, so be prepared to learn how to run your own show.

Man oh man I feel like the dog standing outside the butcher shop window. All this information and I still can't (as of yesterday) even complete the easiest no- brainer task-connecting with Siders. Any other names out there? He must have been overwhelmed & decided to disappear for a while.The 52 Novel site still goes blank 2/3 way through his info box. Meanwhile, finding a way into the Costco big box looks much more useful than waiting years while wading through TP. I still don't see any local authors in ours, home of Jacqueline Mitchard along with other #1 best selling authors. A few copies in PB of "The Dive from Clausen's Pier," which was a big seller for its genre, have appeared this week. How curious is that? The book was published quite a few years back, and is still an excellent read. I am only curious as to why I have not seen any more recent books by local authors. (I believe the author was living in this state when it was written.) Plenty of Patterson & Grisham and Roberts & Steele however. i shall stay on this.

Linda, thanks for sharing your decision to price your non-Kindle editions a dollar higher to "escape' the Amazon discounting, on the basis other retailers will only discount up to 30%. I've been considering this, however I'm trying to establish the maximum any other retailer will discount in order to safeguard the price I set.

And Christy, yes great to see Aaron Shepard visit here. I've used Aaron's books, and Joe's always-fun Newbie's Guide, as well as April Hamilton's Guide to Formatting for Kindle, as a few of my main reference points, all very helpful in navigating the Amazon jungle (er...website)lol

I followed most of your tips! I have to say, I really love CreateSpace. No cost to set-up (I had Rob and Carl make everything POD ready as well) and straight to Amazon. The product is really top-notch. Everyone has been super-impressed with the paperback, as well as the ebook. Thanks for the list as well, it's good to check and see if I've missed anything!

Great, great info Joe. I'm nearing completion of my current manuscript and gearing up to head down the self-pub road. This post will be beneficial going forward. Great stuff.

As a huge fan of your blog and what you're doing in indie pub, and as a new Kindle owner, I'd be interested in reading some of your work, because I haven't yet. AFRAID always looked up my alley. What are a couple of other titles you'd point a potential new reader towards? In other words, where do I begin?

My apologies, I'm behind in responding to queries. I've had a quite a few books to prepare before the Thanksgiving holiday (plus a nasty stomach virus last week didn't help... sorry, TMI), and I've been focusing on delivering those books.

I plan on answering my queries over the holiday weekend. So, if you've contacted me, I do appreciate your patience and ask that you be patient a few more days.

All right! Rob is still in this world. Take your time, guy. No need to plug along through illness and holidays. I only wondered if you had been overloaded and decided to get out for a while. It would be useful if you (Rob) would consider posting a price range for a typical novel, so some of us could begin plugging away at picking up overtime hours to pay for all this. I am willing to learn the process, of course, but I see this becoming a jammed field very quickly, and while I have help available through work & friends to handle the vetting and public end of the deal, I would like the first book to be properly set up. There are also several well-established pros writing in this same time period-they have to be aware of this unique story, and I would not be surprised if they were already considering using this event as the basis of their next book. I want this chance. It will not come back again. Thanks as always to everyone for all of the great suggestions & advice. Enjoy the holiday.

J.R. Parker said:"Do you have any thoughts about Createspace vs. Lightning Source? That would be a blog topic I would be interested in hearing about... if you're open to suggestions. :)"

LS and Lulu are both useful in addition to Createspace. For the book my company just finished, we are going through Createspace for greater integration with Amazon and cheaper author copies, but through Lulu and LS for international marketing and placement in bookstores. Bookstore chains tend to avoid purchasing from Createspace, since they're buying from their largest competitor. ;)

In terms of quality, the books are identical - it's the end result of sales which changes.

You're my new hero. I discovered you on an agent's blog -- I think it was Sarah LaPolla -- and she mentioned you were one of the rare exceptions: someone who makes a living from self publishing. I'm a writer, have been published in small venues (short stories), and have been pitching my novel to agents (partials sitting with two right now). I'd always been a self publishing "snob" until this past summer when I had an epiphany (and I knew it wasn't an original thought): the e-reader revolution is changing everything. I really believe e-readers can bring back the American short story as an art form. Where else is it possible to sell one short story at a time (and to make it easy for readers to try new writers)? So I started on my journey of releasing a short story a month. I'm thrilled to see someone like you who 1) has created a model that is so successful and 2) that you're willing to share your journey with others. I can't tell you how grateful I am for that. Rock on and keep writing! You've scored a new fan in me. :)